Personal thoughts, opinions and comments of an independent consultant, political analyst and historian, who lives in Ireland but is aware of the whole world.

15 October 2008

Charity and Poverty begin at Home

I am sure you will be familiar with the old saying that "Charity begins at home". And that is as it should be. Unfortunately during the years of the so-called 'Celtic Tiger', the massive and unexpected economic boom Ireland experienced over the past decade, many Irish people were so enticed with our newly found - and, as it turned out, very short-lived - wealth that they forgot this important principle.

With our natural generosity and enthusiasm we got involved in all sorts of charity projects around the world, and especially in Africa. We send food aid worth many millions of Euros to Ethiopia (and some other countries), and that saved a lot of lives. But it did nothing to change the situation there, and we are asked to donate ever more money, to send more and more food again and again. An old Chinese proverb comes to mind, when I look at Ethiopia and other African countries in turmoil and chaos: Give a man a fish, and he has food for one day. Teach him fishing, and he will never starve again.Irish charities either don't know this proverb, or have not taken it to heart. Because all we do is giving the Ethiopians a fish a day, every day. Thus they survive, and in fact the population of Ethiopia has more than doubled in the past twenty years. But they are still not able to look after themselves and feed their own people, because we - and other western charities - never bother to 'teach them fishing'.

There is a long tradition of collecting money for Africa here in Ireland. And it was not started by the likes of John O'Shea (of GOAL), Bob Geldof and Bono (of U 2).Many people of my generation will remember the Catholic nuns and Christian Brothers, who ran the schools here in the past, urging us to part with the few pennies we had as pocket money and donate them for "the poor black babies in the African missions".

Many of us did, believing in our innocence that we did something good and would make a difference. In recent years we learned that only a portion of our donations ever reached Africa, and was mostly spent on short-term help. No-one seemed to have looked at the bigger picture and long-term prospectives. Subsequently nothing much has changed in Africa, and in fact things are a lot worse there now than they were some decades ago.

Meanwhile many of those former "black babies" are now grown-up adults and here in Ireland, attracted by the great wealth the 'Celtic Tiger' promised everyone, native Irish and foreigner alike. Some are true refugees and in need of our help and support. But the vast majority are economic migrants, pretending to be persecuted at home and thus benefiting from our generous asylum programme. I see many of them every day, well fed and well dressed (often much better than the average Irish people), talking almost constantly on mobile phones and driving around in nice cars, many of which were given to them by Ireland's social services. They are enjoying to be here and have, to use an old Irish phrase, "the life of Reilly".

I am not envious and wish them no harm. Quite the opposite. As a member of Amnesty International for more than 30 years I have worked with countless refugees, including many Africans. And I still do. But what I see more and more is that the really deserving people, those who have suffered and often only narrowly escaped terrible regimes at home, are marginalised by the (Irish) State, which seems to favour well-off West-Africans (predominantly Nigerians) who are here to milk the system. Many of them did not even come directly from Africa, but have lived for years - and often all their previous life - in the UK, where they did the same. The 'Celtic Tiger' and the more generous welfare payments the Republic of Ireland offers (compared with the UK) attracted many thousands to the Emerald Isle. They are in receipt of help and benefits that no Irish person, no matter how needy, and no foreigner from any European country has ever received. Enquiries why that is the case are leading nowhere, as the civil servants in the social welfare department refuse to "comment on individual cases". And politicians say nothing as well, in fear they might be called "racist" by some if they utter a critical word in this matter.

So while we still send many millions of Euros to Africa every year, and spend even more millions on over 100,000 Africans now living in Ireland, thousands of Irish people in deep poverty have been forgotten. Many of them are old or elderly, have medical problems, and most of them live alone, in tiny little houses or flats that have not been renovated for decades.

Yesterday our Minister for Finance - Brian Lenihan - dealt these people another devastating blow by announcing in the 2009 Budget that he is to withdraw the right to a medical card (which guarantees free medical treatment) from all people aged 70 and above. (see also yesterday's entry)Seven years ago the free medical card for the oldest portion of our population was introduced before an election, and it has made a big difference for many of the most needy people.They are now distraught and have no idea how they will be able to afford medical treatments in future.

But this is only the tip of the iceberg. There are at least 200,000 people in Ireland who live in fact on or even below the poverty line. They are all at least over 50, and many of them are over 65. While the latter receive an old-age pension, the younger ones are usually unemployed and receive only the most basic benefits. Those between 50 and 65 have almost no chance to find a job in a country that is so massively dominated by the young, and many have disabilities and other medical problems that makes it even more unlikely to be employed.

These people are the forgotten poor of Ireland, a whole generation ignored by their own government and nation. For the past decade they have been living in the shadow of the 'Celtic Tiger', who never even touched them once. While our reckless bankers squandered the nation's savings and pocketed millions as 'bonuses' in the process, greedy stock brokers messed up the financial markets with ever more dubious and risky gambling on worthless shares, and ruthless property developers created - with the help of the government - an irrational and unsustainable housing bubble, the poor of Ireland were ignored and forgotten.

Now that we are in recession and global financial meltdown, they will suffer enormous hardship, without the slightest chance of help from the government or anyone else. The Finance Minister - backed by the Taoiseach and the whole Cabinet - is squeezing the ordinary people for extra taxes. He has nothing left in his coffers that he could offer to the poor, even if he wanted to (which is very unlikely anyway).And our many charities - with the noble exception of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul - are focused on Africa and don't take any notice of the enormous poverty in Ireland either. In fact, I have seen it so many times that 'charity muggers' on the streets are even trying to talk money for Africa out of these poorest of the poor.

To illustrate the situation in which many poor Irish live, let me give you one concrete example. There is a man living not far from me, and through my own involvement in local charity work I happen to know his circumstances very well.He is in his mid-fifties, single, childless and an unemployed printer. For many years he worked in one of the well-known printing companies in Waterford, until he was made redundant during a general modernisation process that brought in new machines that require less manpower than the ones used previously. For years he has tried to find work - as a printer or in other industries - but no-one here is interested to employ a man over the age of 50.

Since he never married and has no children, he is entirely on his own. And being a single male, he only qualifies for the lowest rate of social welfare. (All the welcome extras are only given to women and especially single mothers.)He does not smoke or drink alcohol, and does not gamble either. "I don't like that," he tells me, "but even if I would like it, I could not afford it." Every week he receives about € 190 social welfare money, and this is all he has. He has to pay € 100 rent per week, for the little old house he lives in. It is very old in fact, has no proper bathroom (only a tiny shower) and no central heating. After the costs for electricity and waste collection are deducted, he is left with less than € 50 a week to live on. This is scandalous, as it is not enough for a decent living. Most people spend more than that on one visit to the super-market, or on one meal in a restaurant.

No-one has ever offered him a council house, and when he applied for rent allowance, he was turned down without any explanation. He has as good as no social life, barely survives on meagre meals he prepares for himself, and the only place he goes to is the local library. He loves to read books, but could not afford to buy any. He has no television, no telephone and not even a refrigerator. A little radio and the books from the library are his only 'entertainment'.

Let me remind you: This is a man who has worked and paid taxes in Ireland for 30 years. He was for many years a member of the FCA (voluntary army reserve) and goes to mass every Sunday.But not even the Church looks after him. "The only times I hear from the parish priest is when there is a special collection and an envelope is pushed through the door," he explains. In nearly four decades no priest has ever knocked on his door. But this is quite normal now, as parish ministry in Ireland is dead. The few remaining priests, most of them now elderly themselves, are no longer able to visit houses of parishioners between saying mass and playing golf.

During the past two years the prices for food, electricity, coal and turf have risen out of all proportion, while the social welfare payment only rose by a few Euros a week."I soon won't be able to buy enough coal for the winter," he says, grateful for the voucher from a coal merchant I bring him on behalf of a local charity. "And often it is a choice between heating the house or eating."I am ashamed when I listen to that and wish I could do more for him. But I am not a rich man myself. So now and them I add a small banknote from my own pocket to the charity vouchers, but that is not more than a drop in the ocean.There are many people like him. No-one in the social welfare office wants to know about their dire circumstances. If he were an alcoholic or a drug addict, there would be special programmes he could join, programmes that cost the taxpayers millions each year. If he were mentally ill, there would also be special help. He would even receive some extra money if he were a criminal released from prison.But he is just a normal and decent ordinary man, a "regular Joe" as they would say in the USA. And for normal people no-one cares. They are supposed to look after themselves, even if they have not a chance in this world or the next.

In the street in which he lives there are now six African families, living in council houses. Before they moved in, the city council spent a lot of money to modernise and refurbish the houses. The Africans pay no rent - as they are seeking asylum - and receive all kinds of social welfare and other payments. They all have a second-hand car, paid for by social welfare, which also covers the costs of insurance, road tax and petrol.The Irishman I told you about has no car, and would never get one from social welfare. He has not even a bicycle, and as he is under 65, he does not qualify for a free travel pass for public transport. So he is trapped in a little old house that has not been renovated since the 1950s, and completely forgotten by the State, the government and most of the rest of us.

There is nothing wrong with helping the Africans who come here, but it is a scandal that the same help and care offered to them is not also given to the poorest of the poor in our own native population.Let me remind you just once more: Charity begins at home. And so does poverty. If we ignore this fact then we do it at the peril of losing touch with reality. With the recession being upon us and ever more jobs being lost everywhere and every day, anyone of us could be in a similar situation as the man I introduced to you above.

As much as overseas aid and help for the foreigners living here are necessary, we should never forget our own people. Ignoring one's poor neighbour while feeling good about helping the poor in Africa is at best cruel, but often hypocrisy. Don't let it come to that, and keep your eyes open. When you do, you will soon see the people I refer to, and you can do your share of charity, right here at home, where it begins.

2 comments:

Anonymous
said...

my heart is broken hearing about this man... it is wrong that he is not taken care of at least offered a job that he can do; not to mention that others are taken care of and he is the victim of age discrimination. Please print this story in the local paper.

Charity may begin at home. The underlying causes of poverty and the elimination thereof are a controversial, politicized issue. Those with right wing views may consider that poverty results from personal choices or preferences, the breakdown of "traditional values", lack of birth control, and over-interference by government. They may also look to structural factors that prevent economic growth, such as poorly protected property rights, lacking credit system, crime, and corruption.-----------Nickysam

Post a Comment

Ceid Mile Fáilte!

A hundred thousand Welcomes, as we say in Irish.

You are indeed most welcome to my humble weblog, to which I post each day a personal column, reflecting my views, thoughts and opinions of the day. Often the entries will be inspired by events and news from Ireland or abroad. Having lived in various countries before I grew solid roots on the Emerald Isle, I take note of many things that happen on the planet.And I have views and opinions.Please be my guest, read and think, and feel free to leave your personal comments as well. They are as welcome as you are here.On the right you also find some additional information, related to Ireland and other matters, for example books I recommend. From time to time I also have opinion polls and appreciate your participation. And if you like what you read, you can subscribe to my weblog (using the box below) and will receive every new entry automatically.And in case you want to find a specific word or subject - on the world-wide web or on one of my two weblogs - then you don't even have to leave the site. Scroll down to the very bottom and you will find a perfect search engine, powered by Google.

Subscribe via email

Salvage Asgard II

Ireland's national sail training vessel, which was tragically lost at sea off the coast of France on September 11th, 2008.

You can vote for me

If you like this weblog and think that more people should see it, then spare a moment and press these two buttons. You can do it once each day for a valid vote.
Each vote will increase my rating, and subsequently more people will find and read this weblog. Thank you very much for your support.

Leave a Message

The Polling Booth

In this section you are invited to participate in opinion polls. They can be on philosophical or political matters, be related to up-coming elections in Ireland or abroad, or perhaps ask your opinion on something entirely different.The more people take part, the more representative the result will be. Please be so kind and give this section a moment of your thoughts and attention, and place your opinions below.For your kindness, time and participation I thank you in advance.

FREE TIBET !

HUMAN RIGHTS

Support the ISPCA

FACTS ABOUT IRELAND

The Emerald Isle

(also known as Ireland) has been inhabited by humans for at least 10,000 years. This image shows the topographical structure of the island, which was until recent times very important and decided in many cases where the people would build their settlements.The oldest surviving monuments in Ireland date from megalithic times between 5000 and 3500 BCE. About 200 BCE the Celts, familiar with the use of iron, conquered the island.

Around 1000 years later Viking raiders from Norway appeared, and in 914 they built the first city in Ireland, calling it "Vadra Fjord" (safe anchorage), which later became Waterford.In 1169 this city was the first to be taken by the Normans, when they invaded and conquered large parts of the island, including the capital Dublin.

In later centuries Ireland became more known for emigrants, as famine, poverty and oppression drove people out into the world. (About 45 million Americans have Irish ancestry.)However, since the unexpected economic boom (known as the "Celtic Tiger"), which we had for about a dozen years, there are now many immigrants on the Emerald Isle, coming from almost everywhere and turning the once quiet and introvert island into a vibrant international community.

Unfortunately the boom turned out to be only a bubble, based on false hopes, speculation and criminal gambling by reckless bankers. So now we are in a deep economic recession, which is made even worse by our current incompetent government.What will happen to Ireland in the future is hard to say, but it all will depend on making the right political, economic, and social decisions.

There is a realistic chance that Ireland could become a major producer of clean energy, and proposals have been presented already to the government and the public. It will now depend on our politicians to make the right decisions. If they do, then we can have a bright and promising future. If not, Ireland is in danger of becoming a poor third-world country.

Ireland's Countryside

is predominantly green. It is said that there are actually forty different shadesofgreen on the island, but few people go around counting.The landscape is rolling, with drumlins, hills and river valleys, and one is never far from the sea in Ireland.Ancient Stones like the one on this photo can be found in many parts of Ireland. They are the remnants of the old religion, which is once again growing on the Emerald Isle.

Ireland's National Flag

was first introduced during the uprising of 1848 in Waterford, Ireland's oldest city, by Thomas Francis Meagher, a native of the city who later rose to prominence as a Union General (and leader of the famous Irish Brigade) during the American Civil War (1861-65).An Bhratach Náisiúnta, as she is called in Irish, is a vertical (revolutionary) tricoleur, inspired by and modeled on the flag of the French Republic.The colours are green, white and orange. They represent the land and the predominantly Catholic nationalist majority (green), the protestant Anglo-Irish minority (orange), and the peace (white) that exists between them.

The flag was used by nationalists in private since 1848 and flown in public again during the Easter Rising of 1916 in Dublin. In 1919 she was adopted as the official flag of the Irish Republic.

Uachtarán na hÉireann

Prof. Mary McAleese is the 8th President of the Republic of Ireland. First elected to the office in 1997 as a representative of the majority government party Fianna Fáil, she is now in her second seven-year term, to which she was elected without opposition in 2004. She is the second female President of the Republic and currently also the longest-serving elected female head of state in the world. Born in Belfast, she encountered the Northern troubles first-hand and her Catholic family was forced out of their house by "loyalist" terrorists. After studying law in Belfast and Dublin, she qualifed as a barrister. In 1975 she was appointed a professor in the legal faculty of Trinity College, Dublin and in 1979 joined RTÉ television as a journalist and presenter. Since 1981 she combined both areas of work, but returned in 1987 to Belfast, as Director of the Institute of Professional Legal Studies at Queen's University, which appointed her Pro-Vice Chancellor in 1994.

An Taoiseach

Brian Cowen, TD is the 12th Prime Minister of the Republic of Ireland and the 7th leader of the majority government party Fianna Fáil. In 1984, aged 24, he was elected to the Dáil in the constituency his father Bernhard, a local publican, had represented before. After 8 years in parliament, Cowen was appointed Minister for Labour in 1992. Since then he served as Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications, Minister for Health and Children, and - from 2000 to 2004 - as the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Since 2005 Brian Cowen was Minister for Finance, and since 2007 also Tanaiste (Deputy Prime Minister). When Taoiseach Bertie Ahern declared his resignation on April 2nd, 2008, Cowen was elected unopposed as the new leader of Fianna Fáil on April 9th. On May 7th, 2008 Dáil Eireann elected him Taoiseach. He leads a coalition government inherited from Bertie Ahern and supported by the Green Party and four independent TDs. The now 48-year-old, sometimes referred to as 'Biffo', is married and father of two daughters. A keen Gaelic football fan, he also continues to be president of Clara GAA club.

The Parliament

of Ireland is known as the Houses of the Oireachtas. The House of Deputies (currently 166) is called Dáil Éireann, while 60 Senators form Seanad Éireann, the Senate. Both meet at Leinster House on Dublin's Kildare Street (above). The former city residence of the Duke of Leinster was sold in 1815 to the Royal Dublin Society (RDS) which added two new wings, to accomodate the National Library and the National Museum. After the formation of the Irish Free State in 1922 the central part was chosen as the provisional parliament chamber (until some proper building would be found). Despite plans to turn the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, into the seat of the Oireachtas, it never happened. So Leinster House is still at the heart of Irish politics. And when Irish architect James Hoban designed the White House in Washington, D.C., he modeled it on Leinster House.

A few words about me

Having been born into an old European family (with 75% of the genes Celtic) I learned early that history and traditions are very important. After a quite turbulent childhood and youth, spent in different countries on three continents, I joined the Navy, served for many years in ships, other commands, and became a historian.
After leaving the Navy I worked in a museum and national monument, taught in school and college, edited a magazine and worked as journalist and broadcaster. Now I earn my crust as an independent consultant and analyst. In my scarce spare time I am involved in various social activities and charity work, write and read a lot, and sometimes even find time for painting.
My house is old and small, and I share it with a cat. Living a simple Spartan life, I eat vegetarian food and do not enjoy alcohol and most entertainments.
Life is too short to be wasted on fripperies. Every day is needed to do one's share - no matter how small it might be - to save the planet and its living creatures.

Invitation to Smile

The HSE, as seen by "Green Ink"

Award Nominations

If you like to give me your vote on any of these awards, please click on the image. You will have to register and can vote only once for each category. But it would be very nice of you to do it, if you feel that I deserve it.
Thank you for your support.